Servant

It is my understanding that God thinks A Lot of His church...Christ loved the church and there are MANY commands and words about the church in the Bible...We mess it up so much..we meaning the American Christian...I often think that we have it all wrong...but His mercies are new EVERY morning and because we are sinners, we need a savior to help us NOT continue to mess it up...Our church, like many, is not perfect...we are going through a change right now, we have no pastor, we aren't sure exactly which direction we are going and I'm excited and nervous all the same.  A couple of months ago, John was told he had been nominated to be a Deacon again...after much consideration, he told our Pastor and Deacon body that he would go through the process....the process consisted of meeting with several men, prayer, and being in the Word...discussing with me and finding out what being a Deacon meant...in the Bible and in our church.  The Deacon body at BFBC is not a governing body...the church as a whole is...but the Deacons are a servant body, meant to shepherd and serve the "flock" that they are assigned.  This could mean hospital visits, visiting with new members or visitors, writing notes, prayer, etc.  John liked the idea that we as a family could serve others...members of God's church...together as a family.  Our church considers it a partnership...so much that I had to be in on the talks, interviews, and discussion.  Our church considers it as a position that has been set apart for service...one that has been entrusted with the ministry to serve others.  John was elected after a congregation vote and this past Sunday was ordained.  This past Sunday it happen to also be our 13th engagement anniversary, the 13th anniversary of John being CANCER FREE, and the 13th anniversary of passing his Paramedic State Boards!  So, January 29th happen to be a special day already....I haven't studied much about laying on of hands in the Bible (probably should) but our Pastor speaks of it a good bit and that is what they did during the ordination...the Pastors, Elders, and leaders of the church along with some friends and family layed hands on us during the ordination...

I was telling the kids during our quiet time on Monday because they had lots of questions about all the praying..(at least 50 men layed hands on us and prayed for us Sunday) that I made sure that I had confessed my sins.  We've talked a good deal in our quiet time about staying in check and keeping fellowship with God....the one thing I knew was that there would be lots of praying and I wanted to make sure that I put no walls up between me and the Holy Spirit to have free reign to work in me/us.  It was wonderful...I've never experienced anything like that.  I knew most of the men, some really well, some not so well.  Some thanked us, some encouraged, some prayed a blessing, some prayed for our marriage, some prayed for our family, some prayed for our leadership, one man mentioneed being a good "help meet" for John, one mentioned my grandfather whom he knew from years ago, the pastor prayed and of course I cried because I will truly miss him, our SS teacher prayed for us...he was crying and so were we, some told us that they loved us, some told us to come talk to them or their wives if we needed anything at all....this might seem silly but it felt like church was suppose to feel....our elders encouraging, admonishing, and charging us to do what the Bible tells us to do...The church gave John a really nice Bible with his name on it and a certifcate of ordination...

It was a very special day for both John and I.  That afternoon we invited some friends and family over for a dessert party...to celebrate being CANCER FREE...the blessings of the Lord, thanking Him for all the good and hard things, thanking Him for the beautiful people in our lives....here's some dessert pictures..